When covering the Los Angeles riots, Channel 9 reporter Lauren Tomasi became part of the news, this time not just reporting the news. What we were witnessing was the authoritarian rise in US politics, the LA riots are the manifestation of . A survey of over 500 political scientists believe the United States is sliding from a liberal democracy to authoritarianism.

This was clearly a reporter covering the riots, she had a Channel 9 microphone in her hand and a cameraman filming her. There was no mistaking this, the ICE officer turned and took a shot a Lauran whilst she was covering the story. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was shocked at the footage, raised the issue with US authorities, the function of a free and open press is vital for a regulatory apparatus of an operating democracy. LA Police immediately launched an investigation into the incident, we will likely see this go nowhere.

Whilst Lauren was shot by what was claimed to be a rubber bullet, the LA Police claim this was not rubber and instead a condensed foam projectile similar to a Nerf ball. Apparently the LA Police use a 37 mm multiple foam baton and 40 mm foam baton kinetic energy projectile with the 40 mm the most common munition. When I checked the technical specifications, the manufacturer called this a pain compliance round for crowd control.

Whilst reading the technical specifications, the optimal range is 15 to 30 feet, when used past 30 feet the projectile may bounce off the target and lose the majority of its energy. What we clearly saw was this was a direct hit, not a bounce deflection to absorb the energy. Using the technical terms, the 40 mm may be direct fired or skip fired at the discretion of the operator. So what we have witnessed is these Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] agents who are not well trained, they are not elite, they are not disciplined and are not professional in action.